Thread by @aaronjmate

Now that @bellingcat has admitted that it published disinformation (

https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1321848573680619522?s=20

), let's look at those who tried to accuse others of doing what Bellingcat in fact did themselves, and even gloated that the falsely premised article was some kind of vindication.

Let's start with @bellingcat's @N_Waters89, a likely author of the anonymously bylined & discredited Bellingcat piece.

Nick has deleted a number of tweets, but luckily I saved them for us. #Bellingcaught

.@N_Waters89:

"For anyone who's been paying attention, it was clear the 'OPCW leaks' were based on flawed information from the start.

The correspondence we obtained proves it. There was a coverup, but it wasn't the OPCW doing it."

Nope:

.@N_Waters89: "...Peter Hitchens, Aaron Mate, Robert Fisk, Wikileaks, the Courage Foundation and others have been caught red handed either practicing 'journalism' of the most shoddy kind, or participating in a cover-up of a chemical attack."
(

https://twitter.com/N_Waters89/status/1320742686077440000?s=20

)

Deleted:

.@N_Waters89: "Mr Maté got played by his source because he didn’t do proper due diligence." (

https://twitter.com/N_Waters89/status/1320788386303672321?s=20

)

Nope, Mr. Waters either got played by his source, didn't do proper due diligence, or both.

Deleted:

.@N_Waters89: "Just to emphasise this: if my entire career was built on a story in which I hadn’t bothered to check possibly the most vital piece of information, namely the reply from the OPCW DG to my source, my response would not be 'haha.'

Fair point: my response is HAHAHAHA

Then there's @bellingcat, which also took to Twitter to laughably accuse OPCW inspector Brendan Whelan and @wikileaks of possibly concealing a supposedly damning letter that, in reality, they never received.

Not deleted yet:

https://twitter.com/bellingcat/status/1320734222521434113

Bellingcat: "The only question that remains is whether @wikileaks, @couragefound, @ClarkeMicah, @aaronjmate et al were fooled, or whether they participated in obscuring this truth."

Now that we know the truth, that question only applies to @bellingcat.

https://twitter.com/bellingcat/status/1320738031515639808?s=20

Then there's @bellingcat founder @EliotHiggins, who reveled in what he thought was some grand scoop that disproved the OPCW scientists and journalists that he's attacked, and vindicated the US-UK-France bombing of Syria in April 2018 that he's shilled for.

In a tweet that he decided to pin to his profile, @EliotHiggins took glee in announcing that I never received a letter that, in reality, was never sent to anyone except for Eliot's propaganda outlet, for the purposes of spreading pro-war disinformation.

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320756518510338049?s=20

"The question is [how] did @wikileaks and @ClarkeMicah also get played by their source like poor old @aaronjmate and @TheGrayzoneNews"

I actually know how poor old @EliotHiggins & Bellingcat got played: they didn't verify their leak, because they're dumb.

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320757031964418051?s=20

Recap: @bellingcat published part of OPCW "letter." They claimed it proved: a Syrian chemical attack; no OPCW cover-up; Russia-Syria admitting guilt; AND me & others possibly concealing it!

@TheGrayzoneNews then exposed that the "letter" was never actually sent, plus ridiculous.

Now let's continue our look at those who spread @bellingcat & their source's disinformation, and in the process accused others of being what they in fact were themselves: useful idiots.

First up, more gems from @EliotHiggins. After he published his fake letter, Eliot accused @TheGrayzoneNews of being "shameless" given that "@bellingcat showed the leaker withheld key documents that showed his claims were a load of bunk." 😂 😂 😂(

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320785131637035009?s=20

)

.@EliotHiggins also continued to spread his conspiracy theory that somehow a source had concealed from me evidence that, in reality, didn't actually exist.

Higgins: "so it looks like he got played, as did those who believed his reporting, oops." Oops!
(

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320758002169905152?s=20

)

In one of the funniest bits from this episode, @bellingcat claimed that Russia and Syria -- despite vigorously objecting to the Douma allegations in public -- had secretly admitted guilt, which was somehow kept secret until @bellingcat got the scoop! 🧐 (

https://twitter.com/bellingcat/status/1320733437628731397?s=20

)

"Goodness, this is embarrassing" war lobbyist @Charles_Lister exclaimed. "Turns out the whistleblower was ill-informed; the @OPCW investigation was entirely proper & definitive; and #Syria & #Russia even privately agreed with it." Goodness, this is embarrassing.

Here's @Charles_Lister's tweet, still not deleted:
(

https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/status/1320755844267606016?s=20

)

"Another shocker from the 'things that are obvious unless you’re a moron or acting in bad faith” school: the ‘OPCW leaks‘ were total nonsense. Make sure to remember the ‘journalists’ that hyped it next time they come with their next line of bullshit," @DGisSERIOUS declared. 😂

Still not deleted:

https://twitter.com/DGisSERIOUS/status/1320736084205195265?s=20

In response to @EliotHiggins gloating that I "DID NOT receive a crucial email" that was never actually sent, probably because what Bellingcat published under false pretenses actually hurt OPCW's case, @DGisSERIOUS opined that I was "Judith Miller-esque!". Anyone catch the irony?

(

https://twitter.com/DGisSERIOUS/status/1320760407783559169?s=20

)

Thanks to those who sent me these gems. Send any more if they still haven't been deleted!

We got another one!

Here are @DGisSERIOUS & @jscros enjoying a hearty chuckle over a since-deleted Bellingcat tweet.

lol (

https://twitter.com/jscros/status/1320738744719298561?s=20

)

Here's @EliotHiggins gloating that @TheGrayzoneNews & I got "played" -- a charge that proved to be pure projection.

"Pick better sources next time," he advised. Great advice for @Charles_Lister @DGisSERIOUS @charliearchy & anyone else who got duped by Eliot's NATO troll farm.

(

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320814694190485504?s=20

)
(

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320815923301879810?s=20

)
(

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320816671129538561?s=20

)
(

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1320764389365043201

)

Ice-T- "You Played Yourself"

One more: here's @EliotHiggins gloating that his foes were "trying to figure out" how to handle his NATO troll farm's supposedly damning "report."

Here's what @MaxBlumenthal & I were actually saying to each other when we saw it the day before: "Yes!!! This is great" "Haha yeah."